Pride of Aloha 3/15/8: Worst Cruise Ever

[ghoterman]

We were on Pride of Aloha March 15 thru 26. Let me first say, Cruises are a lot like Barbeque, it's all good, but some is just better. Well folks, I have experienced the worst cruise thus far in my cruising history. If this had been my first cruise , it would have also been my last! We have been to the Caribbean several times and Alaska once. This was my first NCL cruise, and it IS my last. Freestyle cruising is a joke. Who wants to try and remember to make "Ship Restaurant Reservations" so you can eat at a decent hour when you are vacation.The service (especially in the dining rooms) was the worst I have ever experienced in even the most disgusting greasy spoon dives. The food was however very good in the dining rooms.But then again, maybe it was good because we had to wait 1 to 1 & 1/2 hours between courses.We actually went to a market in Mauai and bought food to take back to the ship so we could have a decent breakfast (papayas and banana bread).Now did I mention ENTERTAINMENT or lack there of? If you are not a member of the Vic Pore Fan Club, STAY AT HOME! We were prowling the ship at 8:30 PM looking for ANYTHING to do. The night they had "Kareoke Idol" contest, less than 15 people were in the Outrigger Lounge.Poolside entertainment was hitting a plastic golf ball the size of a grapefruit thru a hula hoop using an oversized kid's plastic golf club.I never thought I would be on a cruise and look forward to watching the local news on TV.(and I still wonder how that school board issue got resolved in Kawiliwili) But back to the FOOD (or lack there of).The buffets were the same everyday with the exception of 1 or 2 items. This Georgia boy ain't never seen so many hotdogs, hamburgers and kraut.Even the Bingo stunk! I am used to seeing last day jackpots of thousands of dollars(that's the norm on Royal Caribbean).You get a "Black-Out Bingo" on NCL and the grand prize is a NCL key chain ( I heard that second prize was two key chains)The only good thing about this cruise (remember I said they are all good) was the islands.Hawaii is amazing! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE don't let this post stop you from going.It is the most beautiful place I have ever seen and the people are wonderful.If you have a chance to talk in length to a native Hawaiian ( and I did at the beach near the tender station in Kona), you will understand the meaning of Aloha.They are amazing people. But I suggest you might want to pack some Slim Jims, Potted Meat, Vienna Sausage(I prefer Libby's) and you can always buy papayas and banana bread in Mauai.ALOOOOOOHA

[bondscruisegal]

I was on the Pride of Aloha in Feb on an 11 day Hawaii & Fanning Island cruise. It was absolutely wonderful. I think a realistic comparison of NCL and some of the other cruise lines is like going to Las Vegas and instead of staying at Wynn you're staying at Harrah's.

 

I was a little apprehensive about this cruise after reading other reviews--from bad food, bad service, bad entertainment and the ship being a rust bucket ready to sink. Isn't it strange, but in 11 days I never had a hamburger or hotdog. The food may not have been 5 star restaurant quality, but I found plenty of variety in the food and the service was excellent. No need for me to bring on food for breakfast, I was more than satisfied with a freshly made omelet and fresh papaya. I couldn't find anything negative to say about the crew on the Pride of Aloha---from the Captain and officers to the wait staff and room stewards, everyone was very friendly, helpful and accommodating. The ship was clean and well maintained. The entertainment may not be up to headliners Las Vegas style, but it was fun and entertaining. We enjoyed the Hawaiian craft classes on the sea days with the ship's Hawaiian ambassadors.

 

When we left Fanning Island we had two medical emergencies and had to sail onto Christmas Island so these passengers could be air lifted to Hawaii. As a result we missed our stop in Maui and had an extra sea day. Chatting with another passenger, who was complaining about all the sea days, I (trying to be polite) asked if you don't like all the sea days why book a cruise that has 4 sea days. He didn't have an answer for that. We actually ended up with 5 sea days, and I don't know what calendar he was using, but he had 7 sea days so you can see how things get blown out of proportion. Emergencies happen and instead of going with the flow, some people let it spoil their vacation.

 

So I think when it comes to some of these negative reviews---you must take them with a very big grain of salt. Maybe other cruisers live in a palace, have maids & cooks and eat in 5 star restaurants all the time, and their expectations are so high, that they'll be disappointed in almost anything. From someone living in a nice home and who doesn't eat at greasy spoons, if you want a good way to see a lot of Hawaii don't hesitate in taking an NCL cruise. It was great fun.

 

One small complaint---for me the beds were too hard, but I'm sure there's someone out there who thinks they're too soft.

[JaniceW]

No two people experience any event the same way. I have walked off a cruise ship having had the best time ever and only to hear the person next to me exclaiming that it was the worst cruise he/she had ever taken. I am just as happy to read negative cruise reviews as I am positive ones and I am thankful for cruise critic members who give their opinion - no matter what that opinion is. It gives me a very balanced view of what to expect. I am booked on POAM in late June and I booked despite reading some pretty negative reviews at the time.

[krissy72]

I sailed on the POA last April and loved it. I had also read all the negative reviews and was nervous. But we had a great time. Thought the food was good and the entertainment was fun, although we didn't see too much of it as we were always so tired by 8 or 9pm for some reason. The only thing I would do different next time would be not booking excursions through NCL. By the way, this was our first cruise and we loved it so much that we are cruising again in August. This time Carnival but only because NCL doesn't have anything for the Carribean in August.

[sunscreen]

We also were on the Pride of Aloha cruise 08-03-15 and were also concerned of what to expect as we have cruised with Disney twice before. We were pleasantly surprised and overall were very pleased with our cruise. We are a family of 4 and had an inside stateroom. Plenty of space and luggage storage and probably only downfall was opening up the small hide-a-bed couch every night and crawling over it to get to the washroom. Beds were hard but didn't expect much. Excellent stewardess who kept our room tidy and ice bucket filled and very friendly. Food was not as good as Disney however was still tasty. Definitely need better desserts. Freestyle is a joke as in order to get into the Palace or Crossings at a decent hour, you end up making reservations anyways. So what is the point. Buffet did serve up some of the same main courses as offered in main dining rooms anyways so ended up doing that when we came back late to the ship. Only issue we had was getting back on the ship at Lahaina, Maui. Ship was due to leave at 5:30 pm and we arrived at the dock at 3 pm and the line up was over 2 blocks long. We stood in line for over 90 mins just to get thru security and to a tender back to the boat. Rumour had it that they were only letting one tender dock at a time but I think it had something to do with have no metal detectors and having only 2 people to "hand wand" everyone and manually bag check but who knows. All in all, very good time had and would cruise NCL again.

[PDAZ]

As someone else once said, the "worst cruise ever" moniker is probably reserved for the Titantic.

 

The NCLA cruises aren't traditional cruises -- if you're looking for the same entertainment, activities and buffets that you get on other cruises, you're going to be disappointed. There just isn't much demand for evening activities (as the OP stated, there were less than 15 people in the lounge) -- it's such a port intensive cruise that I suspect most people finish dinner and then call it a night to rest up for the next day's busy schedule.

 

I've never understood the food criticism though. It wasn't the best food that I've had on a cruise, but there was plenty of variety, and I had a good meal each night (albeit a very slowly served meal). And breakfast? They had all sorts of fruits, roll, pastries, cold cuts besides the normal breakfast foods -- how could you not find something you liked? To each his own, but I just don't get it!

 

I too heard a lot of the criticism about NCLA prior to going -- it took me a long time to book because I had doubts, but I finally decided that it was such a great way to see Hawaii that it was worth the risk. Turns out we had a fabulous time. It wasn't the best cruise I've been on, but it wasn't the worst (try a booze cruise on Carnival :eek: ) -- I actually think the worst part about the cruise was listening to other passengers' complaints -- a lot of Champagne tastes on Budweiser budgets! I'm glad the OP enjoyed Hawaii, but he probably should have paid more money and taken the Princess cruise -- I think he would have been happier with the cruise experience.

[2009]

Krissy72,

 

May I ask why you would not book again through NCL? My husband and I have a cruise booked for early 2009 on the Pride of America and were thinking of booking most of the excursions through NCL. Did you have problems and/or were the excursions not what you anticipated. Thanks in Advance

[krissy72]

Krissy72,

 

May I ask why you would not book again through NCL? My husband and I have a cruise booked for early 2009 on the Pride of America and were thinking of booking most of the excursions through NCL. Did you have problems and/or were the excursions not what you anticipated. Thanks in Advance

 

Mostly because some of the excursions ended up being bus tours. They were way over priced, as with any cruise excursion. When we embarked there was a company called Roberts, I think. The prices were cheaper. Wish I would have gone with them. Have learned my lesson now though and for my Aug cruise have booked all independent tours.

 

Kauai was my favorite port and if I had to do it again I would definitely rent a car for that port.

[2009]

Krissy72,

 

Were they large buses? This is our first cruise ever and we are afraid of not making it back to the ship in time if taking an independent tour guide.

 

Thanks for answering so quick.....

[mbisson]

I don't know which particular excursions you were wondering about (with NCL), but we books some excursions with Roberts and wouldn't hesitate to do so again.

 

Just an FYI-they (Roberts) say that if for any reason, they don't get you back to the ship on time they will pay to transport you to the next port (and pick up any other expenses like food/lodging) which may be required.

[krissy72]

Krissy72,

 

Were they large buses? This is our first cruise ever and we are afraid of not making it back to the ship in time if taking an independent tour guide.

 

Thanks for answering so quick.....

 

Yes, both NCL and Roberts had those big Charter Buses. If you are on the 7 day there is only one day that you depart early, I think 1pm or so. I wouldn't worry too much about missing the boat. That was my first cruise also and that was one of the reasons why we ended up going with the NCL excursions. Now I know better. One thing that is great about Hawaii cruises is that at every port there are free shuttles that will take you just about anywhere. They run about every 15 to 30 min or so.

[Duffys wife 1957]

2009, we did book some of our excursions from NCL, we were very pleased, We went snorkeling on Maui and Kona. One tour was scheduled be over after 3 1/2 hours and it was closer to 4 1/2. No worries we were booked with a NCL excursions. Some people that we talked to on a few of the other tours did complain to us about some of the bus tours. We did go to VNP and Waimea Canyon on buses. These were large tour buses, I can't remember if it was Roberts , they do take NCL tours though, but I think they were. We didn't have any problems. Again you need to make sure that you will have time to get your excursion, and be back on the ship in time for departure. Also if you book independently make sure of what the cancellation policy is ,if you don't make it to that particular island on time or not at all... I think if you research your tours you will find what you are looking for. Feel free to ask what excursions your interested in and the people on CC will be more than happy to give you input on what experience they have had. This is the best board for get your information from. These people are amazing.... Some of these people have been to Hawaii many times or live there. Have fun planning.

[urkidn]

I was on this sailing as well and agree with most of what the OP is saying. The buffet was disorganized, boring and repetitive. It would be nice to have omelets and papaya if you had the 15-20 minutes to wait in line for the omelet. The only papaya I saw on this cruise was a sliver on a room service fruit plate. If you like bacon, scrambled eggs and sausage everyday then you will have no complaints. We also wandered the boat at night looking for entertainment only to head back to the cabin for lack of anything better to do. We were probably 2 of the 15 who showed up for the kareoke and we walked out. We choose this cruise for the itinerary not the cruise experience so it didn't really matter but for others it obviously does. As far as price goes, we could have taken Xs Mercury for the same cost. We knew upfront that we were sacrificing a much better food and cruise experience for more time spent on the islands. Hands down, we made the right decision with no surprises and no regrets. Hawaii is an incredible destination and now after having a small taste of it, we look forward to planning our next land vacation.

[Osnab]

We were on Pride of Aloha March 15 thru 26. Let me first say, Cruises are a lot like Barbeque, it's all good, but some is just better. Well folks, I have experienced the worst cruise thus far in my cruising history.

 

 

I noticed that the two posters who did not enjoy their cruise w/ PO Aloha just recently took theirs.....and I heard that PO Aloha is pulling out of Hawaii, leaving only POAM to take this itinerary. Perhaps the crew just don't care any longer, which woudl explain the problems.

Felicia

[CruisinMK]

I did the cruise immediately before this one on March 5th-15th and loved it. Also did this ship in January.

 

Several other people did the cruise with me from this forum and also had mostly very positive experiences.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=737680

 

Here's comment from jasejase

First of all, the mostly american crew was great! Our houskeeper was excellent, and had a great personallity, As did many of the wait staff... We did run into a couple of stray people with no enthusiasm or customer service appeal, but all in all - they were awesome. We thought that they would letting maintenance go, since the boat is being sent to asia soon, but to the contrary, maintainenance was ongoing, and present! It was nice to see.

 

The food was also a nice surprise in comparison to our 06 NCL Sun experience (which i labelled as a 'good'). I feel the food on the Aloha was excellent. The desserts have gotten much better, and the cuts of fish and meats were excellent as well. We ate in the 'premium' restaurants 7 out of the 10 nights, and were please each time. The italian restaurant was our favorite.

 

and some excerpt from lynemac

We just got back as well and echo many of the same sentiments.

 

A couple of notes of caution on the ship. While the food was for the most part quite good the portions at asian fusion were for elves. {Big disembark problem}

[...]loved the ship and of course the islands.

 

Then there is a positive review from some guy named MikeKaye. Oh wait that's me.

[cristdom]

We also sailed POA 3/5-15 & would think twice before sailing with NCL again. The islands were wonderful and we kept reminding ourselves that THAT was the reason why we booked this ship, not for the cruise itself. We felt the ship was in great shape, even the leaking ceiling on the 10th floor within continual fans blowing didn't bother us. We were very disappointed with the free style concept. The one night we were able to get into the Palace without a reservation, we shared a table (with 2 other wonderful couples), but they left us sitting for over 1/2 hour while they waited to fill the table. Finally we begged them to start dinner going as we were starving. Needless to say, we didn't return. We were so busy exploring the islands that we never seemed to time calling for dinner reservations at the right time to be able to eat at a decent hour. The buffet was terrible at night, had alot of salad and desert, they were good. The Specialty restaurants were excellent, reminded us of eating on RCL or Carnival.

 

Again, very disappointing. Our favorite meal was at Bubba Gump's in Maui, that's what we tell everyone. We want to cruise to Alaska next but are very hesitant in taking another NCL cruise.

[mbisson]

We also sailed POA 3/5-15 & would think twice before sailing with NCL again.

The one night we were able to get into the Palace without a reservation, we shared a table (with 2 other wonderful couples), but they left us sitting for over 1/2 hour while they waited to fill the table.

 

Honestly, I don't mind people liking or disliking the food...that's all subjective as to individual tastes. But I can't understand not being able to get into the main dining rooms without a reservation.

 

I don't know what we did differently than you, but we had no problem getting into either of the main dining rooms, and we ate in them 8 nights on our 10 night cruise. Never had a reservation.

[calgary-cruiser]

Yet was disappointed in Pride of Aloha. I had read all the negativity from cleanliness to food to service to entertainment. We booked the cruise (Mar 15-26) purely for the fabulous itinerary.

 

First thing that hit me as we embarked was the age of the ship. Hey, I'm older and still have lots of miles on me, so I blew of that negative comment right away.

 

However as we marched down the halls there was this horrible sewer smell that followed throughout the cruise. Never smelled it on Carnival Liberty.

 

Our room steward was great. When we tipped her extra, she cleaned the previous guests' mess. However, that was supposed to be done before we got on board. Throughout the cruise she did a stellar job and lived up to my optimism.

 

Now let's talk food. Buffet was what people wrote. Not good. Canned fruit, no papaya or guava. Only fresh melon and pineapple. Hello, this was Hawaii. All that said, I'm not a buffet fan to start so my expectations were met.

 

The crossings dining room has a hostess who was not easy to work with. You could tell her co-workers either feared or hated her. Guests should not be so aware of this dissension. She was also very rude to guests.

 

The palace dining room had amazing staff. Such a contrast to the crossings.

 

Food in both dining rooms was good. Again, not wanting to compare to Carnival, it was just not good enough. After all this was a far more expensive cruise. The servers in both dining rooms were great. Juan in the Palace was one of the best we've ever had.

 

Where we finally got a meal that we expected to get on the cruise was in the surcharge french restaurant. The service and food were comparable to the included dining room on Carnival.

 

Excursions were very well run. We loved the Molokini crater snorkel and highly recommend it to all.

 

My end comment was NCLA was trying to reinvent cruising when people have expectations for cruising. Freestyle dining was a good idea, but the reality of it was we had to make reservations daily or risk eating in the sports pub (burgers or pub food) or at the buffet. If we waited until the end of the evening the quality of dining room food dropped.

 

Entertainment.....was there any? Geared very much to the senior crowd. The 30-50 crowd was missed.

 

Yet, all in all we loved this cruise. We totally enjoyed the Hawaiian culture and islands. We made the most of each port by renting cars and following the Oahu/Maui/Kauai Revealed books. The Bible of the Islands.

 

We will be going to Hawaii again...just not with NCL. We would like to give NCL a try again, but for our vacation dollar we'll be sticking with Carnival or RCI or Princess.

 

Each time we had a negative experience on board, we did our best to make fun out of the experience in a weird and twisted way so it wouldn't hinder our opinion of the trip.

[dougweaver]

Freestyle cruising is a joke. Who wants to try and remember to make "Ship Restaurant Reservations" so you can eat at a decent hour when you are vacation.

It seems to me that most people that come away with a negative opinion about the cruise for the most part have a problem with the Freestyle dining ... especially if that don't want to be bothered with making reservations and planning ahead. For our cruise in July I plan to know when and where I can make reservations and have a time in mind to coincide with our port activities. From what I have read since we have a balcony room I believe we can make reservations up to 48 hrs in advance and that is what I intend to do. It seems the people that do this have a much better cruise experience. Hopefully with the Freestyle upgrades they are doing maybe it will get better for everyone ... even the ones that don't want to be bothered with a little planning. dpw

[Osnab]

For our cruise in July I plan to know when and where I can make reservations and have a time in mind to coincide with our port activities. From what I have read since we have a balcony room I believe we can make reservations up to 48 hrs in advance and that is what I intend to do. dpw

 

Ok, all you NCLers out there can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think you can make reservations until you board the ship (or anytime after that.) So while you may know what you are going to do and when, you still may not have your preferred reservation time avbl when you go to make the reservation.

 

I do recommend making the reservations as far in advance as possible, to ensure you get the first choice of times.

 

Also, I don't think the style of cabin you have matters either. I had a balcony but they did not know that when they told me the times available. I also heard others making reservations (or attempting to) and they were told the avbl times before they made the reservation & gave their cabin #.

 

Felicia

[calgary-cruiser]

Reservations could only be made one day in advance. They could also NOT be made for that day after 4pm.

[ghoterman]

When I started this post I knew there would be varied reveiws. Krissy72 This was your 1st cruise. My advice is take another one on a different cruise line. PDAX: YES!!!tHE CRUISE WAS WORTH IT FOR THE PORTS OF CALL!!!URKIDN: I agree 100%.CRISTDOM:By all means go to Alaska!! Take Royal Caribbean or Celebrity. Run from norwegian(it doesn't deserve capitalization) like it has the plaque (or norwal virus)

[NAS-KARR]

You're dead wrong~ ~ ~ ~ we had the worst cruise a human can have, on the POH. So bad that I don't even want to go into detail.

I wonder how they stay in business.

 

 

CIAO, :D

[urkidn]

It seems to me that most people that come away with a negative opinion about the cruise for the most part have a problem with the Freestyle dining ... especially if that don't want to be bothered with making reservations and planning ahead. For our cruise in July I plan to know when and where I can make reservations and have a time in mind to coincide with our port activities. From what I have read since we have a balcony room I believe we can make reservations up to 48 hrs in advance and that is what I intend to do. It seems the people that do this have a much better cruise experience. Hopefully with the Freestyle upgrades they are doing maybe it will get better for everyone ... even the ones that don't want to be bothered with a little planning. dpw

 

Actually, in our case, we found practically every aspect of this ship disorganized not just the dining experience. For example, in the Freestyle Daily, they would have Nintendo Wii listed as an activity in the Longboard at a certain hour, twice a day. We would go there with our 10 yr old and nothing would be going on. We would ask the staff, who would call reception, who in turn would call the activity staff. Someone might show up, but more often than not, no one bothered.This happened EVERY time. It got to be a bit of a joke with us and after a while we would go just to make a point but our son was extremely disappointed on several occasions. We were told everything from no, it's at a different time than the one listed, it's on the Daily but not the staff schedule, it's in the teen club not here, etc, etc. Once an activity staff member showed up, stayed 10 or 15 minutes out of the supposed hour and basically took it out of our hands and left. Another time, a guy finally showed up but didn't know how to hook it up and left. Usually, no one showed up at all. Another example would be trying to get towels in the morning when leaving the ship. Some days there would be a guy signing out towels as you're getting off, other days there wouldn't. No consistency whatsoever. We learned the hard way not to expect him to be there and took towels from the pool area after that. The same was the case on returning, sometimes you could return towels as soon as you got on, other days you ended up bringing them up to the pool deck or giving them to your cabin attendant. It certainly didn't ruin our vacation but it did leave a negative impression that will definitely influence where we spend our cruise dollars in the future.

[dougweaver]

Ok, all you NCLers out there can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think you can make reservations until you board the ship (or anytime after that.) So while you may know what you are going to do and when, you still may not have your preferred reservation time avbl when you go to make the reservation.

 

I do recommend making the reservations as far in advance as possible, to ensure you get the first choice of times.

 

Also, I don't think the style of cabin you have matters either. I had a balcony but they did not know that when they told me the times available. I also heard others making reservations (or attempting to) and they were told the avbl times before they made the reservation & gave their cabin #.

 

Felicia

 

With the new upgrades to Freestyle this is what is posted on NCL's website concerning dinner reservations.

"The Table is Yours - One call does it all. Guests in our balcony staterooms, suites and villas can call up to 48 hours in advance and reserve the restaurant, the time and even the table you desire. All other staterooms can call 24 hours in advance."

What it was before I am not sure. Yes I do know you can't make reservations until the day you embark and we plan to do that first thing when we get onboard for dinner for the first 2 nights. (well make that 1 night since on Sunday night we will be at the Old Lahaina Luau so won't need one then) The rest of the week we will eat dinner onboard. dpw